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Have you seen The Customer-Focused Marketing Playbook?

This comprehensive and practical guide to the latest ideas in customer-focused marketing hands you over 200 packed pages of strategy, best practices, do's and don'ts, practical know-how, facts and figures, and ideas to optimise your marketing strategy, boost sales, market share, increase ROI and profit.

Get it on Amazon (Kindle/Print)
 

Shoppers driven by price, quality & service

As consumers are becoming increasingly savvy about where they choose to spend their money, advertising is no longer the primary factor in buying decisions, being replaced by pricing, quality and customer service, according to a survey by Spherion.

Nearly three-quarters (72%) of the consumers surveyed said that good customer service heavily influences their purchasing decisions when considering a product or service.

However, a reputation for good customer service is hard to earn. The survey found that, over the previous three months, only 32% of people had good customer service experiences at least 80% of the time. Most people's experiences were worse, however, with 23% having experienced good customer service only 60% - 80% of the time, and 23% having experienced good service 40% - 60% of the time. Approximately 20% reported receiving good service less than 40% of the time.

"The survey proves what we have believed for many years, and that is the importance of delivering excellent customer service as a means to establish customer loyalty and earn more market share," explained Joanie Ruge, senior vice president of field operations for Spherion.

The survey also found that, when people experienced bad service, 69% will tell a friend about what happened to them. More than half (59%) said they would tell a company representative, and 37% said they would post their opinion on a social network such as Facebook or Twitter. One in five (19%) said they would choose to write a review online, and 8% said they would go as far as contacting the media.

A bad experience is also hard for a company to overcome. For example, 48% of people who experience poor customer service said they demand an apology, refund, incentives, or coupons to return. More than one in ten (13%) wouldn't even find these amends acceptable and would refuse to repeat their business no matter what was offered.

While earning back lost trust can be difficult, keeping that trust can mean a company earns a lot of genuine loyalty. Only 1% of those surveyed said that good or great customer service wouldn't make them more likely to buy a product or use a service again. In other words, some 99% of people would want to repeat a purchase if they had a great experience.

Customer service traits that are rated as the most important were also the simplest. Courteous and well-mannered treatment and clear communication were each named most important by 90% of respondents. Other major factors in good service were competency and knowledge of the service staff, ability to resolve issues in a timely manner, attentiveness and expectations being met.

Of those surveyed, 73% said they would tell a friend if they had a good experience. And the word of a friend counts for quite a lot; 66% of those surveyed said they were "very likely" to do business with a company based on a trusted friend's recommendation, and 29% were "somewhat likely."

On the other hand, half (51%) of people said they were very unlikely to do business with a company if it had a bad recommendation from someone they knew. Only 10% were somewhat or very likely to ignore that advice and do business with the company anyway.


Sources: Spherion Staffing Services /
The Marketing Factbook.
Copyright © 2011 - 2025 The Marketing Factbook.

    Categorised as:

  • Customer Experience
  • Customer Loyalty
  • Knowing The Customer
  • Marketing Know-How
  • Marketing Technology

Have you seen The Customer-Focused Marketing Playbook?

This comprehensive and practical guide to the latest ideas in customer-focused marketing hands you over 200 packed pages of strategy, best practices, do's and don'ts, practical know-how, facts and figures, and ideas to optimise your marketing strategy, boost sales, market share, increase ROI and profit.

Learn the insider's tricks and techniques to turn every customers into a 'super spreader' for your brand. It's better than free advertising. Once you start this ball rolling, your brand can grow rapidly through word-of-mouth, advocacy, influencers, and customer loyalty. Super-charge your company's marketing strategy, build up your market share, and make more sales through repeat business and customer loyalty.

Find out what works - and what doesn't - and who's succeeded, and how they did it. See how the world's top brands keep their competitive edge against all odds.

The Customer-Focused Marketing Playbook walks you step-by-step through the techniques, metrics, reporting, analysis, marketing models, technologies, tools and innovations for successful marketing strategies - both traditional and emerging - with expert guidance from thought leaders in every major market. Find out the best ways to gather, analyse, and act on customer data to increase profitability, build your brand, empower your customers, beat the competition, reduce churn, and increase customer profitability. This is a marketing book you simply can't afford to be without.

This book aims to hand you all the facts, figures and research data you need for the best decisions for a more profitable, more engaging marketing strategy. It also highlights all the facts, forecasts and trends identified by our experts from the global Marketing Factbook's vast database of market data, news, studies, research and articles, and presents you with an invaluable library of ideas and practical support you can call upon at will.

With The Customer-Focused Marketing Playbook at your side, you'll have instant access to a true goldmine of easily adaptable and up-to-date strategies, walk-throughs, trends, research and market data, plus all the supporting arguments you need to build a solid, profitable marketing strategy.

Get it on Amazon (Kindle/Print)
 
Copyright © 2001-2025 Peter J. Clark